Screw-driver attachment.



PATENTED MAR. 3, 1903..

e. M. GAMWELL. SCREW DRIVER ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8, 1902.

N0 MODEL,

m QM I w? 1mifinesse UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. GAMWELL, OF GREENWICH, MASSACHUSETTS.

SCREW-DRIVER ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,884, dated March 3, 1903.

Application filed September 8, 1902. Serial No. 122,453. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. GAMWELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Greenwich, in the county of Hampshire and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Screw-Driver Attachment, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to improvements in attachments for screw-drivers, in which a suitable sleeve and resilient side pieces or strips forming gripping-prongs at one end and terminating in peculiarly-shaped jaws at the other end are employed, as hereinafter described and claimed; and the objects of my improvement are, first, to provide a strong, durable, and inexpensive device adapted to receive and hold screws of different sizes and to be connected with screw-drivers of any length and any suitable size and to retain a screw in position whether the latter is engaged by the driver or not; second, to afford means for antomatically releasing a screw when the same is seated by the driver; third, to furnish an attachment which may be used to advantage within a limited space, even when the same bears against an obstruction which prevents it from turning with the driver and screw, and, fourth, to provide an attachment that may be readily removed from the screw-driver or slipped up out of the way against the handle thereof when it is not desired to employ the same. I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an edge view of my attachment; Fig. 2, a side view of said attachment; Fig. 3, a top view of the same; Fig. 4, an edge view of the attachment mounted on the shank of a screw-driver holding a screw in its jaws, said screw being out of engagement with the blade of said shank; and Fig. 5 a View of a screw-driver complete having the attachment mounted thereon arid grasping a screw which is in engagement with the screw-driver blade.

Similarletters referto similar parts throughout the several views.

. Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that my device comprises two resilient strips Ct, connected intermediate of their ends by an annular part or sleeve b and terminating at one end in a bifurcated head formed by outwardly, upwardly, and inwardly extending rounded jaws c c. The strips a are preferably rounded below the jaws c,as shown. The upper inwardly-turned edges of thejaws c are normally in contiguity with each other, and I prefer to indent or notch these edges, as best shown at (Z in Fig. 3. The interior of each jaw c is substantially cup-shaped, with the base approaching a horizontal line, while the upper part extends at an angle of fortyfive degrees, more or less. In short, the interior of the jaws c is adapted to conform more or less closely in outline with the flat head of a screw, so that when such a head is inserted between said jaws it will be held quite firmly in place, the notched edges dassisting in this. Although the interior shape of the jaws c is so nearly like the contour of the flat head of a screw, nevertheless they are adapted to hold a screw with a round head with almost equally good results. Of course slight changes may be made in the jaws 0; but they should conform generally to the description above given; otherwise they will not hold a screw independent of the driver.

The sleeve 1) is adapted to slip over the shank of a screw-driver, and those portions of the strips (1 which extend below said sleeve and which I term the prongs e are adapted to grip said shank with sufficient force to hold the attachment at any point thereon. The prongs e enable the attachmentto be successfully connected with screw-drivers of different sizes, as well as to retain said attachment at any point on the shank. When the attachmentis notin use, it may be removed from the shank or pushed up against the handle, so as to be entirely out of the way.

The exterior of the jaws c is preferably rounded, as shown in the drawings, so as to avoid forming sharp corners, which would be liable to interfere with the work, and to facilitate the automatic release of the screw by affording a convenient bearing-surface. This formation is particularly useful when the head of the screw is countersunk. The indentations or notches d may be curved instead of V-shaped or in some other form. I

In operation a screw f is forced between the jaws 0 either before or after the attachment is placed upon the screw-driver shank g.

ICO

The sleeve 1) is then slipped onto said shank, if not already in place thereon, and longitudinally adjusted until the shank-blade h enters the screw-slot, when the parts stand as shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 4 the parts are shown in their relative positions just before the screw is brought into contact with the driver, and when the attachment is in this position a screw can be readily forced between the jaws 0. After the screw and driver are brought into conjunction, as described above, the point of said screw is next introduced into the place intended to receive it and is properly seated by turning the screw-driver in the ordinary manner. As soon as the jaws c oncounter the surface of the material into which the screw is being inserted they are automatically forced apart, and finally sprung off over the head of said screw. The device is now slipped up until its jaws clear the blade h, when it is ready to receive another screw for a repetition of the inserting operation. In case the screw is to be inserted in soft wood it is not necessary to first make a hole with an awl or other instrument, but the point of the screw may bejammed into the wood farenough to enable it to be started, the screw being held with sufficient force by the attachment to permit this to be done. If the screw is to be inserted in a corner or otherlimited space (through a bracket which it is desired to attach to a wall, for example) where there is not room enough for the attachment to rotate with the screw-driver and screw, the driver may be rotated and the screw forced into place, while said attachment is prevented from turning by reason of contact with some object, the parts being so constructed and arranged as to enable the shank and screw to be turned independent of the attachment, which latter, nevertheless, performs its office of supporting and guiding the screw as long as it is necessary so to do.

While this device is a useful adjunct to a screw-driver in nearly all cases, it is particularly usefulin clock, cabinet, and other work where it is necessary to use a long screwdriver and to introduce screws into interior compartments through openings which are so small as to prevent the passage of the hand for the purpose of guiding the screw in its initial movement.

I am aware that other screw-driver attachments have been produced; but it is believed there is none which automatically releases the screw or has resilient means similar to the prongs c for retaining the device at any point on the screw-driver shank.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. Asa new article of manufacture, ascrewdriver attachment consisting of resilient strips and an intermediate connecting-sleeve adapted to slip onto the screw-driver shank, said strips terminating at one end in inteof said strips being arranged to hold a screw.

3. As a new article of manufacture, ascrewdriver attachment comprising a sleeve, and resilient strips connected to said sleeve, forming at one end prongs projecting beyond the sleeve and adapted to grip the screw-driver shank, and provided at the other end with interiorly-concave jaws adapted to close over the head of a screw and automatically hold said screw independent of the driver, the normal opening between the ends of said prongs being less than the size of the driver-shank, substantially as setforth.

4. As a new article of manufacture, an attachment for screw-drivers, comprising resilient strips provided with rounded interiorly-concave jaws c 0 adapted to grasp and securely hold the head of a screw, and means to connect said strips to a screw-d river shank, consisting of an intermediate sleeve capable of being slipped onto said shank, the normal opening between the ends of the strips opposite the jaws being less than the size of the shank, substantially as shown and described.

5. As a new article of manufacture, an attachment for screw-drivers, comprising resilient strips provided with interiorly-concave jaws adapted to grasp and securely hold the head of a screw, the adjacent edges of said jaws having indentations or notches formed therein, and means to attach said strips to a screw-drivershank, consisting of an intermediate sleeve capable of being slipped onto said shank, the normal opening between the ends of the strips opposite the jaws being less than the size of the shank.

(5. As a new article of manufacture, an attachment for screw-drivers, comprising resilient strips provided with exteriorly-rounded and interiorly-concave jaws adapted to embrace and securely hold the head of a screw, and a sleeve connecting said strips intermediate of their ends, the normal diameters of said ends being less than that of the screwdriver shank.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE M. GAMWELL.

Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, S. S. TAFT. 

